Some Republicans, those not 80 years old and didn’t have to contend with the #metoo era, are beginning to see that the situation they find themselves in is a giant lose lose scenario where whatever choices they make will likely end up in catastrophe.
FOX News is not going to be able to provide ample cover for them on this. The bubble which normally insulates their psyche from reality has been breached.
The usual safe havens for confirmation bias are crumbling in front of them by the minute. They have run up against an opponent that gives little sway and is not inclined to cower; a population of voting women in search of a champion. They may have found it. This is possibly #metoo’s biggest moment to date.
Christine Blasey Ford, PhD is someone none of us had even heard of before she came forward late last week. Since then, things have moved quickly toward proceedings that the eleven Republican men making up the Senate Judiciary Committee are ill equipped to confront. I say this not because of the potential liability of an appearance of gender bias, this could be partially mitigated with some careful feigning of empathy and careful questioning.
Dr. Ford will be testifying under circumstances where her status as a doctor and a professor puts her on equal footing with those that will be doing the interrogating. Her credibility is elevated above theirs before she opens her mouth given that politicians and lawyers are seen as less honest and trustworthy than almost every group this side of an ax murderer.
Men in the senate working daily alongside their women colleagues have by now learned that, while women can be bit more polite and less confrontational in their negotiatiating style, are tough as nails. Neuroscience has discovered that generally women have mental flexibility that men don’t always possess. In the movie the Black Panther it was the women who were the warriors, this has historical precedent. Anthropologists have uncovered civilizations where the women protected the tribe. Any man who was gone through a divorce and underestimated their spouse may find themselves living in an efficiency apartment.
Dr. Ford’s handling of this situation so far has been most impressive. She seems to understand that it is she, not the Senators, who more controls what happens next. That she has been measured in her responses, stayed in the background so as to avert the appearance of using this for personal gain and taking her time to reply, demonstrates that she understands the process and how much leverage she has. I won’t put this out there as a conscious strategy on her part, but her restraint demonstrates that she also understands marketing. We want more of what we can’t get enough of. She is a mystery. We, the public, want her to come forward to fill that void and satisfy our natural human curiosity. Her hearing is assured a huge television audience.
I have to say that from what I have seen so far, the little I have to assess, I am impressed with the thoughtful approach. I suspect she will be prepared, focused and credible. These Senators should be worried. The truth will emerge.